The Economy

The financial markets paid little attention to remarks by President Obama on the debt ceiling debate this morning. Stocks and bonds basically treaded water even after a bombshell report from the U.S. Commerce Department that …

The national average payoff for a child’s tooth placed under a pillow is somewhere between $2.50 and $2.60. Does that mean the market value for pint-size incisors and canines is on the rise? Or that the Tooth Fairy is becoming …

Early on in the financial crisis there was talk of this finally being the Wall Street recession. Investment bankers, CEOs and other high-paid types would be thrown out of their jobs or see their paychecks cut. Manufacturing and …

Wednesday’s plunge in the markets signaled that the impasse over the debt ceiling, if it continues, will eventually trigger a substantial market sell-off. Until now, there had been surprising complacency among investors, who seemed to assume that after all the noise and haggling there would, of course, be a deal. That belief itself …

As the tortuous debt ceiling debate continues, with plot twists that even the most diehard political junkies are having a hard time keeping straight, one aspect continues to bedevil the process: the staunch refusal of both …

Last summer, a few disturbing job ads surfaced requiring that candidates “must be currently employed” to be considered for the openings. Nowadays, the practice of hiring only those who already have jobs is commonplace.

The only thing that matters for global markets over the coming days is whether a deal can be struck in Washington over the debt ceiling. That said, there is one major misconception – fostered by politicians – about what the …

As Washington continues to skate perilously close to the economic abyss, 3,000 miles away in Cupertino, California, this week Apple released its results for the second quarter. To no one’s surprise but to almost universal …

Forty years ago, when Borders opened its first store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the book industry was a different place. But for years, Borders acted like it wasn’t, culminating in the announcement this week that it would …

On Friday, I posted a piece on the U.S. debt and how we are creating a false crisis given current interest rates and our ability to manage that. Judging from the responses, you would have thought I was penning a piece in defense …